Shemittah, the Jewish Sabbatical year, brings security and blessing. The Torah says keeping this Mitzvah will prevent disaster and exile. Shemittah is Shabbat LaHashem. A taste of the World to Come. Learn about one womens quest for knowledge and rediscovery of this long lost Mitzvah according to the simple Torah reading of the text found in the beginning posts of this blog.

In the wake of Orlando, Hillary Clinton called out Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait for "funding extremist organizations" and "supporting radical schools and mosques all over the world." What she didn't mention is that all three also fund … her.

The three countries are all guilty as charged. And they're not just funders of terrorism: All three make homosexual acts punishable by prison or even death.

But the Clintons have taken millions of dollars from those same governments through their family foundation.

Which rather tarnishes Clinton's proud post-Orlando vow to the LGBT community that she "will keep fighting for your right to live freely, openly a nd without fear."

Which they can't do in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Kuwait.

Nor is there any sign Hillary, as a US senator or as secretary of state, ever tried to do anything substantive about either problem.

Let alone say, Bill and I won't take your cash unless you end your repressive, anti-women, anti-gay and pro-terrorist policies.

Make no mistake: These governments have kicked in big-time to the Clinton Foundation, especially after Hillary began her White House run. And you can be sure they all want something in return....

Is Saudi Arabia trying to manipulate the U.S. presidential election?Are the Saudis trying to make sure that the candidate of their choice is elected President of the United States this November?

Khizr Khan is more than just the father of slain Muslim U.S. serviceman Humayun Khan and the mainstream media's flavor of the moment in its ongoing efforts to demonize and destroy Donald Trump. As far as the Obama administration and Hillary campaign are concerned, he is a living validation of the success of their strategy against "extremism": by refusing to identify the enemy as having anything to do with Islam, they draw moderate Muslims to their side and move them to fight against terrorism. By contrast, Trump, in their view, alienates these moderates and drives them into the arms of the terrorists.

That all sounds great. There's just one catch: Khizr Khan, and the Clinton campaign, have extensive ties to the Saudis – far more extensive than any possible connection that Donald Trump's campaign may have had to Russia's alleged involvement in the leak of emails that revealed that the entire Democratic Party presidential nominating process was rigged from the start. Not that the mainstream media will pause from speculating about Trump and the Russians long enough to tell you any facts about Khizr Khan, Hillary and the Saudis.

Intelius records that Khizr Khan has worked at Hogan Lovells LLP According to the Washington Free Beacon, "Hogan Lovells LLP, another U.S. firm hired by the Saudis, is registered to work for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia through 2016, disclosures show. Robert Kyle, a lobbyist from the firm, has bundled $50,850 for Clinton's campaign."

The Free Beacon added that the Saudi government has "supplied the Clinton Foundation with millions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given between $10 and $25 million to the foundation while Friends of Saudi Arabia has contributed between $1 and $5 million."

And so we were treated to the spectacle of an employee of a firm that is registered to work for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia lambasting Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention, and then (lo and behold!) becoming a media darling as he excoriates Trump for his "black soul."...

The payment was separate from the sanctions relief, which amounted to $50-100 billion frozen in Iranian accounts around the world.Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif laughs during negotiations over the nuclear deal with America and the world powers. (Photo: Reuters)

The U.S. paid Iran $400 million in cash last January when Iran released four Americans held in prison in the Islamic Republic. The payment was separate from lifting of international sanctions against Iran, which amounted to $50-100 billion frozen in accounts around the world.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the payment was revealed by U.S. and European officials and congressional staff who were later briefed on the operation.

The Obama administration denied that the money was a payoff for the release of the Americans but said rather that it was the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement of an existing claim Iran had against the U.S.

The claim dated back to an arms deal conducted right before the Iranian revolution, which saw the ouster of then ruler of Iran Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi and the installation of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The claim was negotiated in the international court in The Hague.

"As we've made clear, the negotiations over the settlement of an outstanding claim…were completely separate from the discussions about returning our American citizens home," said John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

At the time of the prisoner release, U.S. President Barack Obama did not mention the cash payment, but said only, "With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well."...

Victims keep piling up, but leftist authorities continue to waffle in putting a stop to this lunacy. The plethora of news reports worldwide has long revealed a war against freedom, democracies and anyone considered an "infidel," waged by Islamic supremacists who are indoctrinated into thinking they have a right to abuse or kill infidels, no matter of what age.

"Shocking police figures released for England and Wales have shown nearly 900 Syrians have been arrested in just one year….officials say the migrants were accused of sickening crimes including rapes and child abuse. Now critics say they are concerned that the thousands of Syrians entering Britain each year under resettlement schemes are being allowed to enter the country unchecked."

Leftists and cowards continue to remain phobic about being called "Islamophobic," and so they abandon ship, abdicating their duty to protect their citizens, who elected them to d o just that."Police arrest 900 Syrians in England and Wales for crimes including rape and child abuse", by Siobhan McFadyen, UK Express, August 1, 2016...

A Palestinian terrorist planned to bomb the Jerusalem light rail last month with an explosive device containing poisonous material, Israeli police said Tuesday.

Ali Abu Hassan – a civil engineering student from a village northwest of Hebron – infiltrated Jerusalem on July 15 armed with three pipe bombs forming a large explosive. The terrorist doused nails and screws fitted on the explosive with rat poison to maximize the carnage.

Hassan researched how to make a bomb that would inflict "the most, and most effective, damage" and "even carried out test explosions with a number of bombs in order to check them before entering Israel," said the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency.

The investigation revealed that Hassan originally intended to attack a restaurant, but changed his target after seeing numerous civilians boarding Jerusalem's light rail. A security guard notified police after checking and discovering the ex plosive in Hassan's bag after boarding the train.

An Israeli court on Tuesday charged Hassan for building a weapon, attempted murder, and conspiracy....

...4. Israeli-Palestinian peace should be a top priority for the next administration.

No it shouldn't. Not only is the conflict impossible to resolve right now without Israeli and Palestinian leaders doing more themselves, the issue is not the most pressing priority for the U.S. in the region.

Dealing with ISIS, the meltdown in Syria; dysfunction in Iraq and Libya; managing relations with traditional partners such as Saudi Arabia; Israel and Egypt—all suggest a threatening and fragmenting region that will not be substantially ameliorated or repaired by a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which just isn't possible now.

Nor are the Arab states, now far more preoccupied with their own internal problems—the challenge from Iran and the Sunnis jihadis—all that focused on the Palestinian issue.

Next year at this time Israel will have occupied much of the West Bank for half a cen tury. And there's little indication that either Israelis or Palestinians are willing or able to exchange that reality for something better.

5. The U.S. can just disengage.

No we can't. America has allies, enemies and vital interests in the Middle East that guarantee there will be no major pivot, rebalance or exit out. Washington's conundrum is that it's stuck in a region it can't transform, fix,or leave.

In the face of that challenge, it must focus on protecting and managing as best it can. That means drilling down on what's really vital: fighting transnational terror to protect the homeland and U.S. allies; maintaining access to Middle East oil; countering the emergence of any regional hegemon (such as Iran) that seeks nuclear weapons; and to find a way to work with Middle East partners that may not share U.S. values or even all of its interests.

It's neither a pretty nor he roic picture. But it's a far smarter and realistic approach for an angry, broken and dysfunctional region that will suck America dry if it's not careful.

Aaron David Miller is vice president for New Initiatives and Distinguished Fellow, Middle East Program at the Wilson Center.